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Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

nest.com

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Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#111
post #66

I used to be a fan of Google. They were the good ones, the open ones. Ha! I’ve feel like they played the long sucker game. How times have changed. Even Android feels like a ruse. And Chrome. And maps. The last thing will be search. At some point it’ll be curated for my own good. To be fair, Everyone has to make a living, but be honest don’t take people for suckers of make them into suckers.

It feels like Google search is already curated. At home I cannot find academic articles which appeared in the search at work, because my girlfriend trained the home's recommendation engine on searches for cute cat pictures and domestic things. In DuckDuckGo, at least I know I will be able to find the same results for the same search terms no matter where I am.

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#112
post #21

So my Nest app[1] that has 1800+ registered users will stop working in August. :'( [1] https://richev.me/nest

Look not to be blunt, but 1800 users? Why should they care? I'm being a devils advocate, but ... if you were at Google and a person making large business decisions, why would you care about 1800 users?

What exactly qualifies as a user? Are API users individual accounts making transactions? Are they companies that have registered with Google to use the Works with Nest API?

If it's 1800 individual hobbyists I get it, but if we're talking about 1800 small and medium businesses that have to find a different way to support their customer base that's a huge problem.

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#113
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look not to be blunt, but 1800 users? Why should they care? I'm being a devils advocate, but ... if you were at Google and a person making large business decisions, why would you care about 1800 users?

Because having an open API fosters a community of applications that is free marketing and free development for your product. Nest products are expensive, those 1800 users may equate to a few hundred thousand in revenue for Google, who may instead buy a competitor for their next purchase.

I get that, and I think it's sad they cut it for that reason, but can we at least express our thoughts in that line? "I will never buy Nest AGAIN!" stuff is like what I'd expect on Reddit or Facebook.

Can't we at least post about what the value is that's being lost?

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#114
post #29
post #22

> I’m a Works with Nest developer. Will I be able to access and control Nest devices moving forward? > No. The Actions on Google Smart Home platform does not provide open API access to Nest devices, so it cannot be used to access and control Nest devices. Instead, managing and controlling Google Home, Nest, and thousands of third-party smart home devices is done through the Google Home app and the Google Assistant. W…

Yup, they just did a Twitter. I lived through the Twitter ecosystem collapse and now I'm a VC I worry about investing in startups that are built on any large ecosystem where there isn't an alignment of clear economic interest. Google of all people doing this just made it tougher for everyone else to maintain confidence in large vendor platforms.

If you build on someone else's platform, the best case is you get to be a sharecropper and can make money as long as you don't make so much that your platform-betters get jealous.

The more typical case is this, where you get to spend your time and money doing real-world R&D and discovery of what works for them, for free.

If you're going to dance with a vampire, don't be surprised when it bites you.

Re: Google Is Turning Off the Works-with-Nest API

#118
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like a variant of the “first they came for” argument.

First they came for Google Wave, and I did not speak out—Because I never really understood what Wave was to begin with. Then they came for Google+, and I did not speak out—Because almost all the people I want life updates from are on Facebook. Then they came for Google Reader, and I did not speak out—Because I never actually heard of Reader until years after it was eliminated. Maybe Reader was actually first? Then th…

You don't seem fully serious, but the writing is probably on the wall for third party tools which integrate with GMail.

I use InboxZero through Beeminder, and could see Beeminder being locked out.

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